Redbank Plains Early Education Centre

Redbank Plains Early Education Centre opened in November 2018. Children in our care age from six weeks to school age. Our service is apart of a large Cultural Community within Redbank Plains.

Our team of passionate educators embed nature play. The use of up cycled and loose parts quickly became a big part of our outdoor & indoor environments, using them in provocations to encourage children to express wonder, curiosity and think outside the norm to further extend upon their learning. At Redbank Plains Early Education centre we offer a Bush Kindy program which is ran weekly alternating between our Kindergarten room and Senior Kindy room. As well as Bush Kindy we run a Garden Program daily engaging all age groups. Our Garden program promotes awareness of our environment, caring for our gardens and chickens, recycling and composting, connecting with nature, imaginative thinking and self exploration.

After research and planning, in May 2019 we went on our first Bush Kindy adventure.  Starting off small, we took a group of ten children out to our Bush Kindy location. Each group we took, we promoted agency, independence and leadership. Within weeks the whole class were taking part of our Bush Kindy program on a weekly basis. After regular visits we looked at our Bush Kindy as more of an “Outdoor Classroom” with participating in Yoga, Perceptual motor Program and extension from children’s discoveries from the week before, these discoveries would include making a tree swing, bonfire and cubby houses amongst the trees.

The commitment to providing children with natural spaces to live and learn is reflected in our outdoor learning environment. We are incredibly fortunate to offer children an outdoor learning space that incorporates many natural elements that were purposely designed and built for our service. In July 2019, our playground was overhauled to incorporate bush gardens, ample garden beds and lots of natural, earthy tones with our timber fort. We are also fortunate to be bordered by native trees and the opportunity to share our environment with all of the native animals.

We are passionate about promoting sustainability. In May 2019 we began our Bare Foot Nursery Journey, this was a smooth transition for our Educators, Children and Families. We now have a fully functional Barefoot Nursery that provides a Clean, healthy and hygienic environment. In August 2019 we took another step towards being sustainable and removed  plastic bags and moved forward with the use of wet bags.

Our team of dedicated and enthusiastic educators frequently discuss new research, inspiration and ideas.  Our Bush Kindy visits continue to grow and evolve with multiple experiences being offered. Our children, families and educators look forward to Bush Kindy days each week.